Folding bedstead



H. S. HALE. FOLDING BBDSTEAD.

wax.

N. PETERS. PhnlO-Lithognpher, Washington. D. (L

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. HALE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FOLDING BEDSTEAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 409,606, dated August20, 1889.

Application filed February 6, 1880. Serial No. 2,210. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, HENRY S. HALE, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement inFolding Bedsteads, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of bedsteads which have a stationarysupportingframe resting upon the floor and a folding or swinging frameconnected thereto by means of interposed fulcra in such manner that thefolding member or frame can be placed in a substantially horizontalposition, and can also be folded up into a substantially verticalposition; and one part of the invention relates to the combination, withframes of that character, of a series of f ulcra rigidly attached to onemember, and a series of fulcra-seats at tached to the other member undersuch an arrangement of parts that the fulcra engage successively withthe seats when the folding frame is being moved from one position to theother. [1

Another part of the invention relates to the arrangement of the pivotalsupports or con nections in such manner that the movable frame will notslam against the upright portion of what is known as the wardrobe-bedwhen it is being folded up or closed, this result being accomplished byarranging the pivots so that when the movable frame is approaching avertical position it shall swing upon fulcra or pivots which are nearerthe rear wall or back of the bed than are the fulcra or pivots uponwhich it is supported when the swinging frame is in a horizontalposition.

Another part of the invention relates to so arranging the pivotalsupport that when the swinging portion is in the vertical position itshall be supported upon fulcra or pivots which are higher than thefulcra or pivots upon which it is supported when it is in a horizontalposition.

Another part of the invention relates, broadly, to connecting themovable part with its supporting part which rests upon the floor bymeans of cogged racks, whereby the swing ing part is supported uponmovable fulcra in such manner that the pivoting points vary in theirdistances from the rear wall or back of the bed as it is being folded orlet down for use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional plan of sufficientof a folding bedstead to illustrate my improvement; Fig. 2, verticalsection on the line 1 2, showing the folding part of the bedsteaddepressed; Fig. 3, the same as Fig. 2, but showing the folding partelevated, and Fig. 4 is a vertical section 011 the line 3 at.

A is a fixed or permanent frame of the bedstead, av being the rear, bthe front, and (Z cl the opposite sides, of the said frame.

B is the movable frame, composed of the opposite side rails e c and thebottom f, m being a receptacle for containing the counterbalance-weightM, the said receptacle being form ed in the present instance by twocrossbars h and i. The weight, however, may be attached to the movableframe in any manner which may be found the most convenient; but in allcases they should be placed as near as possible to the rear end of themovable frame, so that a comparatively light weight may be available,through a leverage, to counterbalance the movable frame. Into each ofthe said rails e e of the movable frame is let and secured a bar H,having at the end a fixed pinion n, which may have the limited number ofteeth shown, these teeth being adapted to those of an inclined rack 19on the plate 1. Thus there is provided two series of independent fulcra,one upon each side of the bed under such relation of parts that as thefolding part of the bed is being either let down or folded up it issupported successively upon these fulcra. One of these plates is letinto and secured to the face of each of the side pieces (1 d of thefixed frame A, so that there may be one plate and rack for the pinion onone side of the movable frame and another plate and rack for the pinion011 the other side of the said frame. It will be seen that each plate Iis slotted, and that the pinion fits snugly in this slot, so that themovable frame will always be connected to the fixed frame. It will beseen that the swinging portion of the bed is in the nature of a lever ofthe first order-that is, having the weight situated at one end, thepower at the IOC other, and the fulcrum between the two, and

that as the swinging part of the bed changes its position the fulcrumabout which it moves is changed. It will also be seen that although whenthe swinging frame is being folded up or let down it is supported upon ashifting f ulcrum and seats therefor, yet the parts which constitute theseries of fulcra and fulcra-seats are fixed in their positions relativeto the parts of the frame to which they are respectively attached. When,therefore, I use the words fulcrum or fulcra and fulcraseats, I refer tothe supports by which the folding frame is connected with the stationaryframe; and when I use the words stationarily attached I mean that theparts thus referred to are firmly connected with the parts which carrythem, and are practically incapable of movement relatively thereto,although they may change their position relatively to the opposingmember of the bed. When the movable frame is depressed, as showninFig.2, the pinion will be at or near the lower end of the slot in theplate I; but

when the frame has been elevated to a vertical position the pinion willbe at the upper end of the slot in the said plate, as shown in Fig. 3;hence during the operation of turning up the movable frame it must beraised Vertically by the operation of the cogged parts. The object ofthis is to obtain a long leverage for the counter-balance withoutraising the fixed frame to an undue height. This may be illustrated byreference to Fig. 2, and by supposing the movable frame to be hinged tothe fixed-frame at the point n by the usual fixed pivot-pin. On turningup the movable frame thus pivoted, the rear end it would move in thedotted arc y of a circle, and it would be necessary to make the fixedframe higher than is shown in the drawings, in order that the rear ofthe frame may clear the floor, whereas by the use of the pinions andracks in the manner described above the low frame shown in the drawingsmay be used. Anotheradvantage of this mode of connecting the movableframe to the fixed frame is this, while an effort will be required toraise the movable or folding part of the bedstead, it will not fall backagainst the fixed frame with a jar which accompanies the upward movementof an ordinary pivoted frame, and which tends to injure the entirestructure. Another advantage is the facility with which the movableframe can be turned down. It will also be seen from an examination ofFig. 3 that when the movable frame carrying the bedding is folded intothe upright supportingframe the coun terbalancing-weight lies below thepivots upon which the movable frame is supported, part of the weightlying in front of and part in rear of the pivotal line, whicharrangement insures that the movable frame shall be held steadily andproperly balanced when folded up.

From the above description it will be seen that the rack and pinion forma tooth ed hingwall or back of the bed than others are, the

arrangement of parts being such that as the bed is being let down orunfolded for use the commencement of such movement results insuccessively shifting its fulcrum or the points of its pivotal supportsfarther forward, whereby the leverage of the counterbalancingweight isincreased, and therefore made more effective in supporting the weight ofthe footboard and the bedding, which is arranged or located between thepoints of pivotal support and the foot of the bed. It will also be seenthat the spaces between the cogs or teeth constitute seats,which receivethe upper ends of opposing cogs or teeth, which latter serve as fulcraor pivots about which the folding frame vibrates, these-seats andopposing teeth operating substantially to hinge the parts together.

I am aware that a number of prior patents show folding beds in which thefolding or swinging sections and the stationary supporting-sections areconnected with each other by movablepivots, one on either side of thebed, the construct-ion and arrangement of parts being such that as theswinging part is being folded from a horizontal to a vertical positionthe pivots move toward the head-board, and also move upward hence I donot herein claim such construction; but my invention differs radicallyfrom anyprior construction, because it has upoir each side of the bed aseries of fulcra, upon each pair of which the swinging portion isalternately supported.

I am also aware of Patent No. 159,682 for a hinge; but my inventiondiffers in many essentials from that found in said last-men tionedpatent. For instance, the door which is shown in that patent swings in ahorizontal path with its upper and lower edges traversing horizontalparallel planes, while in my bed the side boards, to which the pinionsare attached, swing in vertical planes, and the weight of the foldingsection is supported wholly upon the fulcra, whereas in the hinge patentthe weight of the door is supported almost wholly upon a flange whichprojects horizontally from one member of the hinge at the lower edge ofthe door and rests upon the flat upper surface of the other member ofthe hinge. Again, in the hinge patent the door neither rises nor fallswhen swinging, while in my bed the folding portion swings, when nearlyfolded up, about a pair of pivots which are very much higher than thepair of pivots about which it swings when let nearly down. Again, in thehinge patent the relation of parts is such that the pivots about whichthe door swingswhen nearly closed are at the same distance from theplane of the casing which surrounds the door as are the pivots aboutwhich the door swings when wide open but, on the other hand, in my bedthe pivots about which the folding section swings when the bed is foldedup occupy a plane a good way inside of the 5 plane of the pair of pivotsabout which the folding section swings when let nearly down.

These difierences are indispensable features in the carrying out fullyof my invention.

I am also aware that Patent No. 76,423, to

IO Dutton, shows a stationary frame, a foldingframe having upon eitherside a curved bearing and supporting surface engaging with a strapconnected to the lower end of the curved surface and attached at itsupper end to the I 5 stationary frame, the relation of parts being suchthat the lower ends of the straps swing inward and rearward and wraparound the curved surfaces when the folding part of the bed is let downfor use; but in the Dutton bed, among other points of difference, theportions of the straps which are in contact with the curved surfaces andare described in the patent as constituting fulcra are not stationarilyattached to either the folding 2 5 frame or the supporting-frame, butshift their positions constantly as the bed is being folded up or letdown. \Vhat I claim is 1. In a bed, the combination of asupporting-frame and a folding frame, of which one is provided upon eachside with a series of independent fulcra and the other is provided uponeach side with a series of stationary fulcra-seats, the fulcra andfulcra-seats being 3 5 adapted to engage successively with each other,substantially as set forth.

2. In a bed, the combination of a supporting-frame and a folding frame,of which one is provided upon each side with a series of 40 independentfulcra and the other is provided upon each side with a series ofstationary fulera-seats, the fulcra and fulcra-seats being adapted toengage successively with each other, and being arranged at differentheights from the lower side of the bed, substantially as set forth.

3. I11 a bed, the combination of a supporting-frame and a folding frame,of which one is provided upon each side with a series of independentfulcra and the other is provided upon each side with a series ofstationaryfulera-seats, the fulcra and fulcra-seats beingadapted toengage successively with each other, the rearmost fulcra andfulcra-seats 5 5 being higher than those at the front, whereby, when thebed is folded up, the swinging frame is lifted bodily, substantially asset forth.

4. In a bed, the combination of a supportingframe and a folding frame,of which one is provided upon each side with a series of independentfulcra and the other is provided upon each side with a series ofstationary fulcra-seats, the fulcra and fulcra-seats being adapted toengage successively with each other, said fulcra and fulcra-seats beingan ranged at different distances from the rear of the bed, substantiallyas set forth.

5. In a bed, the combination of a supportingframe and a folding frame,of which one is provided upon each side with a series of independentfulcra and the other is provided upon each side with a series ofstationary fulcra-seats, the fulcra and fulcra-seats being adapted toengage successively with each other, said fulcra and fulcra-seats beingso arranged as to support the folding frame upon those nearest the rearwhen the folded part is vertical, whereby, when the bed is folded up,the folding frame is moved rearwardly relatively to thesupporting-frame, 83 substantially as set forth.

6. In abed, the combination of a supportingframe and a folding frame, ofwhich one is provided upon each side with a series of independent fulcraand the other is provided 85 upon each side with a series of stationaryfulcra-seats, the fulcra and fulcra-seats being adapted to engagesuccessively with each other, the rearmost fulcra and fulcra-seats beinghigher than those at the front, the ar- 9o rangement of part-s beingsubstantially as described, whereby, when the bed is folded up, thefolding frame is moved bodily rearward and upward relatively to thesupportin gframe, substantially as set forth. 5

7. In abed, the combination of a supportingframe and a folding frame, ofwhich one is provided upon either side with a series of fulcra and theother is provided with a series of stationarily-attached fulcra-seatsarranged on lines extending upward and backward, the folding frame, whenhorizontal, being supported upon the lower and forward f ulcra andfulcra-seats, and being successively supported upon those above and inrear as it is folded I05 up, substantially as set forth.

8. Inabed, the combination of a supporting frame and a folding frame,the counterbalancing-weight attached to the inner end of the foldingframe, and the fulcra upon oppo- 1 10 site sides of the bed interposedbetween the folding frame and the supporting-frame and arrangedsubstantially as described, whereby, when the folding frame is swunginto a vertical position, the.counterbalancing-weight lies 1 I 5 belowthe fulcra and partly in front thereof, substantially as described.

9. In a bed, shifting f ulcra consisting of two cogged racks, incombination with the up right frame and folding frame, substantially asset forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY S. HALE.

\Vitnesses:

.TAMEs F. 'loBrN, HARRY SMITH.

